Looking for Knives Sharpening Whetstone Recommedation

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  spamhead on 26/06/2025 - 14:17

  +2

  It depends on how much you're willing to spend. I got the Shapton professional/kuromaku 1000, which at the time was regarded as the best "entry level" Whetstone, it cost me $84 in 2021 and looks like it goes for $110 locally now or $73 on amazon (can't tell if it's NZD or AUD) https://amzn.asia/d/aH6r2VJ

  It's obviously a bit more than your options, but guaranteed quality and lasts a long time. If you're going to be using it a lot you'll eventually need a flattening stone for which I spent even more on the atoma diamond plate, but you can leave that until further down the line.

  • 

    spam on 26/06/2025 - 16:29

    Thanks, I'm just looking at basic/standard whetstone as the knife itself is the basic $30-ish knife.

    I was thinking along of learning the skill then when/if we spend on a good quality knife, the skill transfers and get the proper stone

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  rolex on 26/06/2025 - 14:31

  Spyderco SharpMaker … Warthog?

  • 

    spam on 26/06/2025 - 16:30

    Thanks, but I was just looking at the basic/standard whetstone. Looking at that, it's more than what I'm willing to pay at this moment ha.

    Perhaps when/if we invest on a good japanese knife then we'll get this one. Good to know

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  justaddwater on 26/06/2025 - 16:48

  +1

  Bottom of your least favourite mug?

  • 

    spam on 26/06/2025 - 17:11

    Tried that. Unfortunately doesn't work.

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  Ruffdrafter on 26/06/2025 - 16:58

  This works fine for me, make sure to use a food grade mineral oil (not toxic and won't go rancid) https://www.newgumsarn.co.nz/products/s-combination-sharpeni…

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    spam on 26/06/2025 - 17:12

    Cheers. I'll give it a try

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  Drcspy on 27/06/2025 - 07:21

  I can indeed sharpen knives with a Whetstone but TBH I'm lazy and it takes time and effort, (not a lot tho haha), so I put on my thinking cap and had an idea. If get my 2-3 knives that need sharpening and i get my orbital sander, (y'know the kind that don't spin but vibrate). I hold it upside down and use it as my 'Whetstone'. I use that with some 150 Grit or whatever to sharpen my knife. Be gentle. Don't heat the knife blade up. It's a really easy way to get a lovely edge on them - then you can use the steel on them for a few swipes just to finish the job off afterwards !

  Works for me.

  Oh and if you don't have a handy steel - use the bottom of a ceramic cup/mug and just drag/swipe the knife blade over it a half dozen times - it's a really fast, easy and handy way to give the knife a quick tickle up when you're at the bench trying to cut something. Just grab the nearest cup ! Really works well.

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  Ky on 27/06/2025 - 08:30

  The bigger variable in this case would be the muscle memory to hold a consistent angle rather than the sharpening medium. There’s going to be a lot of cussing trying to deburr that $30 knife on a stone. Inexpensive stainless can’t hold an edge but is tougher than toilet paper on the bottom of your shoe.

  Don't underestimate that steel, contrary to tv chef opinion it actually does remove material and sharpen the edge. Hold it straight down against a board. Put the knife edge perpendicular to it, halve that angle then halve it again. Swipe down edge leading starting from the heel with enough force to shave a warthog, at the speed you would stroke a cat.

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  salmonsalami on 29/06/2025 - 08:44

  Those two stones you linked have very different purposes. The Kogan one you would use to bring an edge back on a kitchen knife with a good profile (1000 grit) and then polish it (6000 grit). The Bunnings one would remove a lot of material quickly to reprofile the shape and fix knicks or chips in the edge. It would be more intended for tools like lawnmower blades, planes, chisels, etc. You would probably want a step between the 180 grit and 1000 grit for a kitchen knife as you would be spending forever getting the larger and deeper gouges/scratches out with a 1000 grit stone.

  There's a few questions.
  1) Do your knives have a good shape already and are free from edge damage?
  2) Do you want a mirror finish (6000 grit will get you that) or just an edge that's sharp and bitey (1000 grit is enough)

  If you want to reprofile your knives and get them thinner behind the edge (I wouldn't recommend going lower than 20 degrees for a cheap knife with soft steel) and get them sharp, I would get a 250/1000 combo stone like the KING K-80 250/1000 Grit(amazon.com)

  If your knives already have a good shape and they're new and you just want to keep them sharp and get a mirror polished edge, then go for the 1000/6000 Kogan stone.

  I was in the same boat as you a few years ago wondering if I wanted to get into knife sharpening. I started with a KING KDS 1000/6000 Grit(amazon.com) but realised I needed a coarser stone to fix the shape of a couple of my knives, so I picked up the KING G-45 220 Grit(amazon.com). These are all soaking stones, so you need to soak them in water for ~5 mins before you use them. You also need to leave them out to air dry out of indirect sunlight. If you put them away before they've fully dried out, you'll might come back to a furry mouldy mess next time you need to use them.

  If I were to buy them all again, I would go straight for a set of Shapton Glass stones(zanvak.co.nz) which are splash and go. No need to soak and just wipe the surface clean and dry and you can put them away, but I'm aware it's way above your budget.